I'd forgotten how much I missed these guys.
Every so often, a sequel comes around that doesn't feel like a sequel, but like the second act of the play. After last season's oh-so-predictable ending, things pick up pretty much where they left off. Airi, Ritsuko, Junpei, Celcia, and Mike (the coolest T-74 tank in history) continue on their merry stripping adventures. Annette and the two Elf elders follow them, determined to try to help, even if they really never have managed that in the past.
TWHE II has managed to stay fairly true to the original series. The quality of animation has improved somewhat, thanks to the advent of computer cells, and most of the original English voice cast has returned. Unfortunately, the actress who voiced Celcia in the first series did not return for this one for whatever reason, and she was so perfect in the first series.
The characters feel to have really evolved a bit since we left them. Airi is no longer the "Father Knows Best" figure, fixing everything in the last 5 minutes. Junpei has calmed down a bit in his relentless tormenting of Ritsuko and Celcia, and Celcia has returned the favor by not peeing on Junpei. Ritsuko doesn?t feel very much different, but she?s been kinda shafted so far, script wise. But, they did get rid of her old G3, and gave her a shiny new Sig 552.
This time around, the dubbing has stuck much closer to the original script, whereas before, who characters would be changed to make the story more interesting, especially in episode 8. Here, the English and Japanese scripts are almost identical, which has the upshot of improving the language used by our heroes. Let's be honest, it DID get a bit crude first season.
So far, my only complaint about TWHE II is that, once again, Celcia gets stuck as an animal. I can't help but feel that this was forced upon the show because it was something that made the show so different the first time around. Celcia as a panda is not as funny as Celcia as a dog, both conceptually and animatedly. As Junpei says, "It?s just part two of Sorry Lady, You Can't Take Off the Fur Coat."
Overall, this is a very good anime, and I am eagerly awaiting the advent of the next disc. Not since Dragonhalf has there been a fantasy/comedy anime so original and funny. Any otaku who enjoys the lighter side of life should at the very least watch this, if not run out right now and buy it. This is definably one of my favorite shows of all time, and I?ve seen a few.